This game was set up to be a doozy based on several storylines. It did not disappoint. First, Columbus GM Don Waddell got to face his former club for the first time. Second, several former Blue Jackets now play for Carolina, most notably Columbus native Jack Rolsolvic.
1st Period
The Jackets got on the board early when Fabbro picked up a loose puck deep in the defensive zone. He skated the puck all the way down the ice by himself and beat Kochetkov under the glove for the first goal of the game.
CBJ Goal 1-0: Fabbro (unassisted) 2:04
It was all blue jerseys early on. On defense, they were clogging the passing lanes and limiting shots. On offense, they had several high-danger chances.
Unfortunately, Roslovic scored his 12th (!) goal of the season when he ripped a shot past Elvis’ blocker off the rush. Good for Roslovic, bad for the Jackets. Sillinger’s blind, backhanded dump-in led to the rush. Hopefully, that leads to a good teaching moment.
CAR Goal 1-1: Roslovic (Aho) 6:41
Another good defensive play led to another Columbus goal. Marchenko stole the puck from a Carolina defenseman, which led to a breakaway. He looked low-blocker and didn’t miss.
CBJ Goal 2-1: Marchenko (unassisted) 10:20
It was almost 3-1 when the Kuraly line had Kochetkov on his back with a bouncing puck. Unfortunately, Olivier couldn’t get a clean look at the puck.
KJ went to the box for hooking as the period wound down. The Carolina power play was quickly negated when Fabbro was interfered with on a zone entry. A 20-ish second Columbus power play didn’t amount to much.
2nd Period
Harris got called for tripping early in the period. Realistically, both Harris and Fantilli found themselves in poor defensive positions, and both Blue Jackets played a role in tripping the Hurricane. The penalty was killed off, but not without Elvis having to put in some work.
After the penalty expired, Chinakhov had two quick chances off the rush. It was yet another play where his speed and acceleration created a prime chance.
Fantilli and Labanc collided in the offensive zone, sending the puck the other way. The result was Chatfield receiving a cross-ice pass and tying the game.
CAR Goal 2-2: Chatfield (Orlov, Necas) 5:40
The Jackets received their first (full) power play of the night when Werenski was hooked. They cashed in when KJ took the puck off the wall and fired a no-look pass cross-ice to Voronkov in close. Werenski had the second assist, but that wasn’t his most noticeable contribution. Prior to the goal, he somehow corraled a hard clear by the Canes and kept the puck in the zone.
CBJ PP Goal 3-2: Voronkov (K. Johnson, Werenski) 7:10
Elvis made a great save when a deflected point shot got past him. He was able to twirl around and swat the puck away with his stick.
The positive momentum was halted when Monahan got booked for hooking. The Canes scored immediately off an Aho one-timer. A blocked pass shifted both the defense and Elvis – Carolina was able to take full advantage.
CAR PP Goal 3-3: Aho (Necas) 10:39
The Canes took full advantage of their momentum and took the lead. Blake found himself with the puck and alone in front of the net and sniped the puck past Elvis. That’s the type of save you’d like to see your starting goalie make. Should he have had that save? Probably not. But he was in position and had a clear look at it.
CAR Goal 4-3: Blake (Kotkaniemi) 13:23
Severson went to the box for tripping when he dumped a Cane in front of his own net. Those types of penalties drive me crazy. A little bit of discipline would have prevented it. Carolina once again negated their power play with a penalty. As a result, the Jackets would get a short power play at the beginning of the third period.
3rd Period
The Columbus power play was killed off to start the period. They continued looking for the tying goal.
Marchenko drew a high stick with eight minutes left, giving the Jackets four minutes worth of power play. Unfortunately, after several looks and extended zone time, the good guys came up empty.
With 90 seconds left, the Jackets found themselves with a 6-on-5 faceoff in their own zone. A low cycle led to a cross-ice pass from Monahan to Marchenko, who buried the one-timer. Again, KJ’s work along the wall opened up the ice enough to lead to the goal.
CBJ Goal 4-4: Marchenko (Monahan, K. Johnson) 18:54
This was the only period the Jackets won the possession battle. Don’t turtle, boys and girls.
OT
Elvis made a big stop on Necas to keep the game alive. Necas loaded up from the slot, and Elvis robbed him.
The Jackets immediately went end-to-end with their own chance, but Marchenko couldn’t get a shot off on Kochetkov.
There was a scary moment when Werenski went hard to the net. Walker, the Carolina defenseman, collided with Kochetkov’s head. Kochetkov went down hard and stayed on the ice. He eventually skated off under his own power, but former Jacket Spencer Martin was forced to come into the game in relief.
The fast-paced overtime continued. Elvis robbed Aho on a one-timer. Aho actually started to celebrate before realizing Elvis had it.
This wasn’t your typical no-goal overtime, where both teams play cautiously. No, both teams pushed and had several chances. On to shootouts anyway.
Shootout
CBJ
Monahan – goal, deke then blocker side
Severson – no goal, deke then missed wide-open net
Fantilli – no goal, backhand missed high
CAR
Necas – no goal
Svechnikov – no goal
Aho – no goal
Jackets win!
Final Thoughts
That’s three in a row for the Jackets. They went down 4-3 after leading 3-2 but stuck with it and fought back. The last time they won three in a row? March 2022.
Kent Johnson has a point in every game he’s played this season – four goals and five assists in six games.
Werenski is riding a five-game point streak – three goals and five assists.
Chinakhov led all players in individual expected goals tonight. He was all over the ice and recorded seven shots. It’s a shame he couldn’t bag one.
The Canes are currently the top team in the East in points percentage. It wasn’t pretty, but this game should be a confidence booster going forward.
Up Next
Wednesday night will be a revenge game of sorts. The Canadiens will be in Columbus after beating the Jackets 5-1 in Montreal a week ago. The puck drops at 7:30 PM ET.